Graham Bailey (born 22 March 1920) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played league games for

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

and for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

as a defender. He was born in

Old Park Old Park ( ta, பழைய பூங்கா ''Paḻaiya Pūṅkā'') is a 27 acre urban park in the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. It was originally built in the 19th century as the gardens and grounds of the residency of the British G ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. When he signed for the 1949/1950 season at Sheffield United in May 1949 a fee of £12 per week was agreed for the first part of the season. He was invited back to Sheffield United in 1989 to celebrate the club's centenary at a reunion of past and present players at Bramall Lane. He celebrated his

100th birthday A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cent ...

in March 2020 and in February 2021 was tracked down by the Huddersfield Town Supporters Association and confirmed to be the club's oldest living former player.Heritage: An Interview with Town's Oldest Living Player
/ref> He was visited by the Club Ambassador Andy Booth on his 101st birthday and presented with a Town shirt with his name on the back. As of June 2022, Bailey was living in

East Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to th ...

with his wife.

References

External links

* Alan Hodgson – Huddersfield Town F.C. Matchday Programme - 2007-08 season 1920 births Living people Association football fullbacks English centenarians English Football League players English footballers Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Men centenarians Mossley A.F.C. players People from Dawley Sheffield United F.C. players {{England-footy-defender-1920s-stub